Investment In Somalia the in thing?

[Thierry.]

I dont know if you have noticed but recently i have seen or heard of more and more Somali people going home to open some form of business whether its buying land and reconstructing in to building in which they lease or selling Air conditioners.

 

I dont know if anyone saw newsnight on tuesday or wednesday (i cant remember) about the brother who set up the Coco cola business it was some exciting stuff.

 

The question is has the time come to close the intenet cafes and invest in the gold mine or are people still reluctant due to the security issue

[N.O.R.F]

Henry (u wish) good to see ya back mate!

 

There are many ppl going back home with many ideas, this is very encouraging indeed. I didnt see the News Night thing but hears about it. Coca Cola not paying taxes and distributing all its Cans across East Africa. I may just call Pepsi and persuade them to open a plant in Burco .

 

Having plans to go home and benefiting the ppl and economy is good. I have distant dreams of doing something along the lines of a Cocrete Company, paving

[QUANTUM LEAP]

Its great news however, being Somalis we can always turn on each other just as quickly. So lets hope the ideas keep coming and the investments encouraged and hopefully people will come to their senses and know the meaning of life. We need more peace to prosper Inshallaah

[Samafal]

Yeh I saw the program on newsnight and thougt it was very good, investment is just what the country needs to succeed economically i believe this is very good in that it can divert the attention from the political spectrum. The more people compete for businesses the more the economy grows, however the downside of this is that the society becomes material driven and losses the spiritual bond that connect them.

 

The other issue with investment in business, is that we do not want to see couple of them dominate the market in that they will have enormous influence in the future of Somalia and might not always act to the best interest of the people.

There is one way of solving this solution and that is simply to have a state governance who encourages bussinesses to grow while at the same time discouraging monopolistic or oligopolistic trading

[Waaq]

It is good to hear about the Coca-Cola plant, but is hardly the first effort at investment. I recently spent sometime in Dubai, which has a large Somali business community that has been active for many years in all sorts of efforts. In fact, a former US official to Somalia in a speech in Washington DC several months ago highlighted that the economy in Somalia is acutally thriving in many areas. It is the first country in Africa to have mobile phone rates lower than a dollar a minute, and the telecom have recently convened a regulatory agency of sorts in Dubia with the help of the ITU and UN. The private sector is the only hope for Somalia and Africa. People have learn to rely on their own initiative and work rather than steal money from others, or expect others to take care of them.

[Thinkerman]

The private sector is the only hope for Somalia and Africa. People have learn to rely on their own initiative and work rather than steal money from others, or expect others to take care of them.

Thats a interesting observation. Surely then this is the best way to undermine the status-qou of law-less-ness and corruption, or even lessen the reach and prominancy that it enjoy's in somalia.

[rudy-Diiriye]

definitely its! the more who have the means, the more the have n the have nots field is levelled.

 

i gave more attention to some 1 who is opening a bacadleh or taxi in the land then one who tells me hes opening business in the west!

 

in africa, u looking 30% return for every dollar u invest in!! it just dont happen anywhere else in the world...!

 

i do have my eye on business that i like to open!

a rehab house for WORLORDS!! CHING CHING! that should make me alot of mulla!! war yaa caato didnt i tell not mess with ina caydeed! u need a time out! go there and read 30 suras!!

[Gaasira]

I fail to see the benefit of Coca-cola for Somalia. Granted, there are investment and employment opportunities, but the harm that can come from such an investment outweighs the good. In the West we are told to avoid drinking Coke and other soft drinks because they are not good for our health. Yet, we are thrilled when this kind of thing happens to the poorest people in the world. Why Coke when so many other opportunities that are lucrative and beneficial to society abound? The men who installed the telephone lines did a service for their people and got rich in the process. Our objective should never be development at any price.

[NGONGE]

Investment in Somalia is like a trapeze artist walking a tight rope. There is always a danger that he would fall and break his neck! Some of these Somali entrepreneurs know what they’re getting themselves into. They have contingency plans for when things go wrong (as they invariably will). They probably move their liquid assets to overseas banks and only keep operational liquidity in the country. Most are talented “trapeze artists†who would know how to cushion the fall when it comes. Then you have the dreamy and daring amateurs. The ones that think a prosperous economy is all that Somalia needs to succeed. They see fools’ gold and they rush in droves. They buy houses, they build houses and they start dozens of unprofitable businesses. These guys are not walking the tight rope; they’re bouncing on it. For them, the fall will be disastrous.

 

As in many war torn countries, business, the black market and the basic economy do go on regardless of the flying bullets. People have to eat, they have to be clothed, and they have to drink Coca Cola! Having unrest in these countries does not mean life will stop. However, a real, strong and functioning economy it is not. It’s a free economy of course. There is no government to regulate and enforce some draconian laws on the business people. There is no high authority to stifle the economy and play with interest rates and inflation. On the other hand, there is no government to safeguard the life savings of these people. There is nobody to enforce laws and ensure that contracts are respected. It’s an economy of chaos. Such an economy is an opportunist’s playground. It needs a devil may care attitude. It requires someone who is willing to put in the investment and is ready to accept total failure. I really don’t think that Ediow Xawo or Adeero Jamac, who have decided to spend their life savings on building a house on the outskirts of Bosaaso or Burco, know (or even have considered) the consequences. They just follow the crowd. Everyone is buying and building houses, we should too! Somalia/Somaliland/Puntland is safe enough for such an enterprise, we should not lose out!

 

My first ever post on this website was about selling Somali sand to migrant Somalis. I meant it as a joke to display the absurdity of Somali pride in their homeland. However, after reading some of the posts above and the false hope being displayed, I think selling packaged sand to Somalis wasn’t a bad idea after all.

[Gaasira]

Waryaa,

 

Yes, that’s an impressive list you’ve there, which clearly points to the fact that we’ve already entered that “desirable†phase of economies (the joint ventures and enterprises you speak of). My objection is not to economic growth, which is what our poor nation needs, but to the types of business enterprises we are willing to undertake. As a fledgling economy, we are in a position to discriminate as to the type of foreign products/investments we should allow into our country. Big corporations have pillaged the earth in pursuit of absolute and unhindered profit and now even developed countries are grappling with the result of these unimpeded business practices, such as poor health, toxic waste, degradation of the environment, and depleted resources (I highly recommend a documentary called The Corporation â€, if you haven’t seen it, which explores some of these issues).

 

Coca-cola, for me, implies that it’s now ‘safe’ to do business in Somalia- and that perhaps McDonald’s, Marlboro, and all other undesirable corporations the West is trying hard to get rid of, should follow suit. Our country is already dumping ground for toxic waste from other countries. Must we also join in by inviting these same companies to ruin the already poor health of our people?

 

I can see how young aspiring entrepreneurs like you are thrilled at the prospect of doing business in Somalia. I would even concede that the salvation of our nation lies with business-minded people (as it has in the past 15 years), but let’s do so conscientiously (this may be oxymoronic). To borrow the words of a Somali man who wanted to advise some chubby individuals to eat less, “Cuntada marka la cunayo, miyir ha lagu daroâ€.

[Thierry.]

Basic formula of economical sucess of a state:

 

Ambitious person with a plan + Capital = Economical sucess

 

This is a simplified picture of how an economy can prospere. Regarding what ngonge said about risk and the fact that some people are going back oblivious to state of the country i think it is an irrelevant matter to a certain extent, if somebody wants to succeed and has a good plan (which includes paying for seurity until a state is built) I dont see how you can. All businesses have a degree of risk but in comparison to the return name me ANY other country or place in the world who will give you a better return.

 

Regarding the statement that brother Gaasin made that Somalis should seek enterprises taking into consideration the ethical issue I totally agree with this, however this is a business and it is employing people so that they dont starve to death, if you would prefer Somalia to be more like other nations in Africa surviving on donations from the west just because coco cola is apart of the capitalist circle, saxib the Pc your typing on is in the same circle.

 

In terms of waste being dumped in somalia that does not concern any enterpreanuers and is an agenda that the state should deal with when one is formed IA

 

My Brothers business is the backbone of any community it is the blood of the nation and if the blood is being increased then well done to that